Cologne
“I totally forgot my wife’s birthday one year. In a panic, I drove to the nearest drugstore and grabbed the first perfume I saw. Turns out it was actually a cologne by Antonio Banderas.”
—Tony Z.
Cemetery flowers
"One time I got into a fight with my girlfriend, and I wanted to buy her some flowers to apologize. I was definitely out of my element and had no idea how to find a place that would deliver flowers. I thought I ordered a romantic bouquet, but I had actually ordered a giant flower wreath from a cemetery flower shop!"
—Alex T.
Gum
"When I was in high school, I got my girlfriend a homemade tape of my band playing and a pack of gum for her birthday.”
—Mike L.
A regifted sleeved blanket
“One year, I completely forgot to get my sister a Christmas present. I rummaged through my closet, desperate to find anything that would pass as an acceptable gift. I found a sleeved blanket that was STILL in the box and looked completely new. You would think I was in the clear, right? Well, it turns out that was the present she gave me the year before.”
—Preston S.
A laundry basket
“I had no idea what to get my girlfriend for Valentine's Day. I wanted to make sure I got her something she could use so I decided on a laundry basket. To this day I have no idea why I thought a dirty clothes bin would be a romantic gift. She was pretty pissed, and chocolates definitely followed later that day.”
—Oliver S.
A Frisbee and bungee cords
“One year for Christmas, I realized I forgot to get my aunt a present, so I stopped at Target on the way to my grandparents' house. I was in a rush and wasn’t paying attention, so I ended up getting her a jar of bungee cords, a Frisbee, and a bag of trail mix.”
—Sean C.
A VHS tape
“When I was in high school, I bought my older sister Pretty Woman on VHS for her birthday. This was in 2004, so DVDs were definitely a thing, and my sister definitely didn’t have a VCR. But at the time, I didn't get why it was a bad present. Everyone gave me such a hard time; my older brothers even made me return it for the DVD version. But at least she loved the movie!"
—Jonathan F.
An accordion
“Years ago, I got it into my head that my wife wanted an accordion, and I spent a ton of time finding a great one online. But it was expensive ($300), and when I finally gave it to her on Christmas, after talking up how great this surprise was going to be, we discovered that (1) it was far too heavy for her to lift, and (2) she had never asked for an accordion. Still don't know what made me think she had.”
—Ari V.
A wooden pirate ship
“One year, my brother and I forgot to get my mom a Mother’s Day present, so at the last minute we bought a wooden pirate ship and painted 'Happy Mother’s Day' on it. I was 17.”
—Nick P.
A vacuum
"I bought my wife a vacuum for her birthday one year. It did not go over well."
—Ken C.
Luckily, you can get the lady in your life a gift she will love from Birchbox!
